Like this:

We were knee deep in discussion about faith (in God) in my home group yesterday and the question came up about who we could help in shoring up their faith (in God). The usual comments about how we need each other came up (being challenged by others, needing support, and etc). And I blurted out the idea that when we have other people in our lives, they can help to cover us in battle while we are down on the ground bleeding. Those times will come, you know. You WILL be down on the ground bleeding occasionally. It’s just part of life.

Ready for the coming battle…

Imagine yourself out on the battlefield of life. You’ve trained all your life for this. In your mind, you are strong and brave and ready for a fight. Then, out of nowhere, a strong and huge beast attacks from behind and you are down. You didn’t expect this. Being attacked from behind seems unfair. And, now, you can’t do anything about it. Now imagine, that you are alone. You can’t fight back because you severely injured. The beast has every opportunity to devour you. And he does. Because he can.

This where having friends really comes in handy.

Now re-imagine the same scenario, only this time you have a fellow warrior by your side. The beast attacks and you are down, bleeding on the ground. Your friend takes notice and comes to your aid. Like any good warrior, he/she knows just the right amount of field medicine to stop the bleeding and bandage the wound. Your friend also has his/her weapon. He/she can fight back against the beast and protect you while you recover from your wound. Your friend has your back. The beast can’t have you for lunch, because your friend says, “No!” Your friend can beat back the beast because he/she has a sword and your best interest at heart. This gives you the chance to recover and get back up to fight another day.

So, what does this look like in a practical sense?

Your fellow warrior/friend is someone you trust because you’ve spent enough time together to really know their character.

You can call them up at anytime and tell them your struggles.

They will bring you coffee, or take to Starbucks (or another coffee joint of your choice).

They will bring you dinner and a movie.

They will give you the box of tissues if you need it.

They won’t hate you for being stupid.

They will encourage you to keep trying, even when it’s hard.

They will tell you to stop being so silly (or stupid, or dumb, or whatever).

They will pray for you.

Can you think of other things your friends do for you?

In short, you need friends. And, so do I. We need each other on our word to a better life. How else will we take that hill?

Like this:

First things first. I did not write in my blog on Wednesday or Thursday. I feel guilt about this. Part of me just wants to give up on this whole endeavor. It’s too hard, I have no audience (that I am aware of), I feel adrift and alone on an ocean of words. The past couple of days I have been lying in bed in the morning asking the Lord to show me what to do about this whole writing thing, because I am reluctant. I doubt my skills and my purpose here. I am trying to be okay with not having an audience and with writing whatever is in my heart, even if other people don’t like it or respond to it. This is hard. It is hard to do just because God said so. I am struggling to be faithful. I have been asking the Lord for a system that I can count on that would facilitate writing in this blog day after day. So here is my schedule for the week:

Also, I have been holding on just a little longer because something big is coming this Saturday. A BIG healing. So the past few days have been just about remembering to breath. So, if you tune in Tuesday I will explain what did or did not happen Saturday.

Hopefully this will work for me and I will write every day. Pray for me.

So, this weeks prompt from Gypsy Mama is Ordinary

Sometimes I think I would like to have an ordinary life. But, really? My life is anything but ordinary. Ordinary can be boring. Sometimes when I talk to people with ordinary lives they say, “Nothing much as changed”. I feel sad for them. But, maybe they are okay with ordinary. Maybe ordinary is their “happy place”. I guess I find ordinary boring. Gave me the gift of being a visionary, an adventurer, and a pioneer. I am constantly building, seeking, pushing forward, and trying something new. Not out of a need for my life to be less boring, just because I find these things exciting. I know not everybody is like me. Some people thrive on maintaining things like a gardener maintains his flowers and vegetables. Loving, consistent, gentle care come from these people. I am explosive, hyper, pushy, demanding (in a good way) visionary. I like to start things and move on to the next thing. I need the maintainers as much as the maintainers need visionaries. One without the other would be meaningless. God made the hand dependent of the foot and vice versa. With the foot the hand would never get anywhere, with out the hand, the foot would have nothing to do.

If you have been following this at all, you know the drill about what I am doing. If not, click here.

I skipped day 6 last Thursday because I was in the hospital with a kidney stone. I actually missed not writing Thursday (despite the tremendous physical pain) and not writing the 5mf on Friday. I am taking that as a good sign.

Five minute Friday’s are a stream- of- consciousness exercise hosted by The Gypsy Mama every Friday. In an effort to get myself writing more frequently, I am going to participate as frequently as I can. I am also participating in a weekly bible study at Beauty for Ashes onWednesdays, and in “Just Write!” campaign also hosted by Beauty for Ashes. The 5mf exercise is simple, The Gypsy Mama gives us a word prompt and we write for 5 minutes. There is no editing and no backtracking. Just write whatever comes into your mind. So here goes this week’s edition of 5mf:

In Real Life

In real life, nothing is at it seems. People smile at you but they are really hiding. I might smile you at you and be hiding too. Real life is scary. If you knew what I was hiding from you, you might not like it, or me, anymore. Which is why I hide. God knows my real life. He knows my sins, my struggles, my wishes and dreams. I think that we would exhaust one another if everyone knew as much as God knows. It is just too much to handle, even with the best of us. And, we might easily judge one another and write each other off if we knew what God knows about our real life. I like to think that I am out living on the edge and being real with others, but am I really? No. Maybe more like 60% real, and 40% secretly. I am thankful that God knows my real life like the back of his hand and that I don’t have to hide or pretend with Him. He can handle my bad stuff all by himself. And, even though he judges my sin as sin, he doesn’t condemn me to eternal torment. Thank YOU Jesus! It is your work on the cross that makes this “Real life” possible .

Welcome to day 3 of the Just Write! campaign here at Beauty in it’s time. Mary Kathryn Tyson is hosting this campaign in an effort to get her creative juices flowing, and other people’s as well. I have chosen to participate because I need a kick in the rear to get myself writing more frequently. So,everyday that she does this she will give us a one-word prompt and we “JustWrite!” for five minutes without editing (note: editing for grammar errors is okay, just don’t do a total rewrite). We are not trying to craft masterpieces here, we are attempting to “Just Write!” and get the creative juices flowing. MK has offered to allow us to write in her comments section, or to put a link in her comments if we have our own blog to write in.

Sweet

I like to eat sweets, I like to be sweet, and I like to be treated sweetly by others. In other words, I like a lot of sugar in my life. But, I don’t like false sweetness, that makes the sweetness sour. Being sweet means being kind to others and going out of my way to say or do something that puts a little sugar in someone else’s life. It’s sort of like giving a gift that is both a delight and a surprise. I like it when God is sweet to me. He has infinite resources that he can tap any time, and he frequently does for you and I. Like, when I’m worried about finances, and we go out to dinner, but try to keep spending in check, and I find a $10 bill lying on the ground. I think, God must have dropped that there for me, how sweet. So, really, our dinner only cost $15. Sweet. Being sweet to others is difficult sometimes. The passages in 1 Corinthians 13 concerning LOVE reminds me that I need be sweet to others. And, God is an eternal source of sweetness that I just need to tap into and let it pour through me to others.

Welcome to day 2 of the Just Write! campaign here at Beauty in it’s time. Mary Kathryn Tyson is hosting this campaign in an effort to get her creative juices flowing, and other people’s as well. I have chosen to participate because I need a kick in the rear to get myself writing more frequently. So,everyday that she does this she will give us a one-word prompt and we “JustWrite!” for five minutes without editing (note: editing for grammar errors is okay, just don’t do a total rewrite). We are not trying to craft masterpieces here, we are attempting to “Just Write!” and get the creative juices flowing. MK has offered to allow us to write in her comments section, or to put a link in her comments if we have our own blog to write in.

Self-Control

Go!

Self-control is the most difficult aspect of Christianity to master. Self-control is a gift of the spirit, but it’s up to us to control ourselves. Our hearts are full of evil desires that we must fight constantly to hold back. This can tire one out. Fortunately for us, God gives us the tools we need to fight back. The trick is remembering the sword we have in our possession. All we have to do is pick it up and wield it in Jesus’ name. He gives the power needed to defeat the enemy, we just have to be willing to pick up that sword. We have to say “yes” to fighting back. We have to say “You will go no further” to the enemy. One of Satan’s great tricks is to help us to forget that God can help us control ourselves. Practiced self-control gives the power to keep walking the walk and running the race. Otherwise, we get caught in the sticker bushes that crowd our path. We become stuck like a rabbit that was running from the hungry wolf and was not watching where it was going. Lord I pray that you help me to stay on the path.

Five minute Friday’s are a stream- of- consciousness exercise hosted by The Gypsy Mama every Friday. In an effort to get myself writing more frequently, I am going to participate as frequently as I can. I am also participating in a weekly bible study at Beauty for Ashes onWednesdays, and in “Just Write!” campaign also hosted by Beauty for Ashes. The 5mf exercise is simple, The Gypsy Mama gives us a word prompt and we write for 5 minutes. There is no editing and no backtracking. Just write whatever comes into your mind. So here goes this week’s edition of 5mf:

Rest

I just got up from a nap. I was attempting to rest, because I feel so tired. I just needed a nap. Instead of actually sleeping, I thought of all the reasons that I don’t have time to sleep, or that keep me awake. Secrets about my sins, things that stress me out, physical pain, spiritual hunger, needing more God in my life. It’s easy to look at someone and say, “You need more rest!” without actually understanding what keeps them from resting. Truly resting is not an experience that involves sleep. Truly resting involves trusting. Trusting that everything will be alright. Trusting that God’s got it covered, that He has my back. I struggle and struggle to find this place of rest and abandon. I struggle to just let go, and let things lie where they in my life. I want to be able to feel the sweetness of utter and complete rest. Of lack of control. I mean, if God is big enough, why do I need to worry? He says he wants my burdens, so why not give them to Him? Why not let Him fight the good fight on behalf? The pain, the worry, and the frustration don’t have to be mine. Here is a prayer hoping to let go and let be.

So, I am doing what Mary Kathryn suggested and writing 2 five-minute posts in my blog. I am supposed to write on each topic for 5 solid minutes without editing or stopping. This comes from a blog called “Gypsy Mama”. I do not regularly read that blog. Perhaps I will have to start since five-minute Friday’s are fun and cool (to me anyway). So here goes:

Hard Love

Hard love says, “I love you, but the buck stops here”. I need you to respect my line in the sand and stop trying to cross over to my side of the line. I have a boundary, respect it. I will respect your boundaries, because I love you.

Hard love holds a candle in the darkness and gently pulls back the crusty bandage from a long, drawn-out wound that is in need of healing, at just the right time.

Hard love, is you and me engaged in tangled up love that fights and grows and reaches for the light.

Hard love holds fast when no one else will, or can for that matter. And believes that you can make it, no matter what anyone else says.

Hard love drills deep into the earth and looks for signs life when no life should grow. Then hands down a rope, to pull that life out into new territory.

Hard love holds fast to the life-giver and encourages fiercely for others to do the same.